Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/168395 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 2016:4
Publisher: 
Uppsala University, Department of Economics, Uppsala
Abstract: 
We document an episode with considerable tax avoidance that occurred in Italy after 2008 when the Italian government reformed the property taxation by abolishing taxation on principal residences and increasing taxation on secondary properties. In presence of a very low inter vivos gift tax, Italian families found it beneficial to redistribute properties among their members. Difference-in-difference estimates indicate that property tax reform increased the probability that high-wealth donors made an inter vivos property gift by 3 percentage points and the size transferred by 4 square meters relative to less wealthy donors. Our estimates allow us to compute (back of the envelope) the amount of tax avoidance due to inter vivos transfer. The amount is around 78 million euros, or 4 percent of the annual tax revenue from principal residences.
Subjects: 
tax avoidance
property taxes
inter vivos gifts
JEL: 
H27
D31
D11
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
794.67 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.